Sugar Addiction is REAL—Here’s How to Kick The Habit

Sugar. Like the ex that continues to hang around after your breakup, it brings so much (temporary) comfort, yet only leads to bad news in the long run. Assuming we weren’t the only ones struggling with this complicated relationship, we spoke with celeb trainer and fitness expert, Patrick Murphy (he got JLaw in shape for Hunger Games…enough said), and asked him to share the secret to ending this toxic relationship for good (with sugar, that is—your ex situation you’ll have to figure out on your own).

Keep reading to find out why we crave sugar, what it does to our bodies, and a simple way to kick your bad habit to the curb!

Here’s the scary truth about sugar addiction: it’s a real thing. Numerous studies have shown that sugar and sweetness can induce the same feelings of reward and craving that come from addictive drugs, like cocaine and morphine. Ready for another disturbing fact? According to Murphy, the average American consumes more sugar in one year than our ancestors did in their entire lifetime. Yikes. A quick trip down the grocery aisle is proof—our new, beautifully packaged, over-processed snacks are often loaded with secret sugars (and not-so-secret sugars—curse you, Oreos).

Now that we’ve established the facts, we must do what all curious children do when presented with unsettling news they don’t understand: ask why. “We aren’t born with sugar cravings,” Murphy says. “We develop them over time with our food and beverage choices.” Think of it this way: we have thousands of taste buds, which send messages to our brain. If we keep sending the same signal—sugary sweet signals, in this case—then our brain will learn to crave it when it doesn’t receive it.

You might know that sugar isn’t the best for you, but do you know how exactly it affects your body? Allow us to break it down for you. First, let’s establish that we are discussing fructose—not glucose, which is a simple sugar that your cells transform into energy. Fructose, on the other hand, can only be metabolized by your liver and negatively changes the way your brain recognizes how much you consume. As a result, you usually end up eating way, way more than you need, because your brain thinks you’re still hungry.

“[Excess] sugar wreaks havoc on many of the body’s organs,” Murphy says. “It creates a plethora of pro-inflammatory responses and is linked to obesity, diabetes, heart disease, dementia, metabolic syndrome, and even cancer.” He says that every time we give into our sugar cravings, we turn on the pro-inflammatory response to disease and rapid aging. Not good.

So, the million-dollar question: how do we quit? Murphy says to do the same thing we did when we developed the addiction: train our brain. “Now it’s the time to change your choices and give your taste buds the chance to develop a craving (or liking for) the opposite of sweet,” he says.

We had to ask him—is it okay to cheat, even a little? A future without Swedish Fish, however healthy it may be, does sound a bit drab. “Everyone has a different relationship and history with food and beverages,” Murphy says. “I try to get most of my clients to follow the 10-90 rule—go for the cheat only 10% of the time, which is not often.” But then he follows with this little tidbit: “After you reset your taste buds, you won’t feel like you’re missing out on anything. You’ll actually crave superfoods, like berries or dark chocolate for dessert.” Sounds like a good plan to us!

One last thing—lest you think you’re somehow beating the system by swapping sugar for artificial sweeteners, allow us to banish that notion for you immediately (sorry). “Beware of artificial sweeteners!” Murphy warns. “Since they are hundreds of times sweeter than sugar, they will heighten sugar cravings even beyond what regular sugar will set you up for.” He says to avoid all products that have added sugars and instead look for words like “unsweetened” or “no added sugar” on ingredient labels. You can read more about the artificial sweeteners you should avoid and more natural alternatives on Murphy’s health and fitness blog here.